I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
It is usually not enough to decide to begin a spiritual practice. The path of most people’ is not straight and there are numerous distractions along the way. Therefore, if one is seriously thinking about this practice, he or she must place himself or herself in a some type of spiritual system.
In the beginning, someone has to have the confidence that the path of the Buddha’ is for him/her. So this person must care about his/her own suffering or the suffering of others. He/she must believe that it is possible to end this suffering and that there is a method to do so. Otherwise, that person is not motivated to do Buddhist practice.
The next step is to surrender to the method. It’ is not easy to give up control. So many people try to commit halfway. In summary, the Three Refuges are about recognizing the Buddha’s method, making the decision to follow his teachings, and joining a community that supports its members in the practice.
Buddha represents our aspiration to achieve clarity and understanding of reality. I think it is very important to keep returning to it. It is very easy to get distracted. Its crucial that we stay motivated, so we need to be clear about our goal.
The Dharma represents all the teachings that help us attain the Way. It contains not only the teachings of Shakiamuni, but also the teachings of his successors and our teachers. It is fascinating to me that people have been experimenting with different tools for 2500 years and now we can benefit from their work. Buddhism reminds me of a large scientific laboratory with many researchers trying to achieve the same goal. Everyone has been very generous in sharing their experiences.
However, I would like to broaden this view and see the teaching everywhere. So every being (including objects) can be a Dharma teacher.
Taking refuge in the Dharma means trusting teachers and being grateful for their work. Moreover, when we join this practice, we become part of the Dharma. We conduct our own experiments and share the results. Even though we do not talk about it much, the fruits of our practice are visible in our every action.
It is also very supportive to know that many generations of teachers have worked on skillful means to help us succeed in this process. If we treat them with respect, they become our friends and supporters along the way. If we treat them with disrespect, they become oppressive objects.
Sangha are people we come together with to help each other stay on the path. Having other people around motivates me. Its much easier to wake up in the morning knowing that other people will be there. Being part of the Sangha means not only supporting them, but also having the responsibility to do something for the community. However, these responsibilities need not be seen as something difficult. They are often a skillful way to help us develop in our practice.
Thanks